UPDATE - With 7 additional bodies found in northern Syria, YPG/PKK terror victims rise to 68

UPDATES DEATH TOLL; REVISED HEADLINE, DECK, LEDE

By Lale Koklu

AFRIN, Syria/HATAY, Turkey (AA) - Seven more bodies were discovered in Syria's northern Afrin district, bringing to 68 the number of victims exhumed from an empty piece of land occupied by YPG/PKK terrorists before the 2018 liberation, authorities said Thursday.

“When these places were under the control of the PKK terrorists, there were rumors of the disappearance and execution of those who opposed them,” Mohammed Seyh Rashid, head of Afrin Local Council told reporters at the scene. “Most likely, there may be a mass grave of the disappeared and the people standing in front of them in this cemetery."

He said work will continue until the identities of the deceased are determined.

Earlier Thursday, Hatay Governor Rahmi Dogan confirmed 26 more bodies were discovered and that the number of bodies removed from the mass grave could rise.

Turkey’s National Defense Ministry said Wednesday that 35 bodies were found in the same area.

Since 2016, Turkey has launched a trio of successful anti-terror operations -- Euphrates Shield (2016), Olive Branch (2018), and Peace Spring (2019) -- across its border in northern Syria to prevent the formation of a terror corridor and enable the peaceful settlement of residents.

In its more than 35-year terror campaign against Turkey, the PKK – listed as a terror organization by Turkey, the US, and EU – has been responsible for the deaths of nearly 40,000 people, including women, children and infants.

The YPG is the PKK's Syrian offshoot.

Syria has been mired in a vicious civil war since early 2011 when the regime of Bashar al-Assad cracked down on pro-democracy protests with unexpected ferocity.

In the past decade, around half a million people have been killed, and more than 12 million had to flee their homes.